Men's Soccer

Bronco Men Drop 4-1 Decision To Cal State Northridge To End Two-Game Road Trip

Northridge, Calif. -
Despite scoring the first goal of the game on Sunday against Cal State Northridge, the sixth-ranked Santa Clara Bronco men's soccer team fell 4-1 at Matador Stadium in Northridge, Calif. Peter Lowry gave the Broncos a 1-0 lead with his team-leading fourth goal of the season early in the first half, but the Matadors of CSUN exploded for four second half goals. After starting the year with a five-game unbeaten streak, SCU (4-2-1) has now lost two straight games.

Lowry put the Broncos on the board early on with his third penalty kick of the season in the 11th minute. Brian Martin got into the box and maneuvered around a defender before being brought down to draw the penalty kick. Lowry, who has now made six penalty kicks in his career, calmly found the corner of the net to give Santa Clara the 1-0 advantage.

Despite being out-shot 7-2 in the first half, the Broncos entered the halftime break with the lead. Santa Clara goalkeeper Joseph Buttita made two saves in the first half to keep the Matadors scoreless through the first 45 minutes.

However, the Matadors roared out of the gate in the second half to get back into the game. They evened the game 1-1 two minutes after the halftime break as Devin Deldo scored on a low shot to the near post.

CSUN did not stop there as they struck for two more goals in the span of four minutes to move out to a two-goal advantage. Fergie Agwu, who notched an assist on the first goal, got a goal of his own beating Buttita to the lower right corner in the 54th minute. Adrian Lopez then forced a turnover and fed Ryan Rossi for an easy tap-in for the Matadors to give them a 3-1 advantage with 32 minutes remaining in the game.

With the Broncos pushing forward looking to get back into the game, Cal State Northridge put the game away with their fourth goal off the foot of freshman Sunghyun Kim in the 84th minute. Agwu fed Kim and he finished with a shot past Broncos goalkeeper Ari Zlotoff, who entered the match midway through the second half for Buttita.

The Broncos return to action next weekend facing two Bay Area rivals. On Friday, Sept. 22, SCU welcomes the Spartans of San Jose State to Buck Shaw Stadium for a 6:00 p.m. PT match in the first game of a doubleheader. The Bronco women play the UCLA Bruins following the men's match. The match will be the second Rivalry Series event of 2006, with the Bronco volleyball team giving Santa Clara the lead in the annual competition last week.

On Sunday, Sept. 24, SCU will open its West Coast Conference slate with a big match against the University of San Francisco on the road. The game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PT from Negoesco Stadium in San Francisco. The Broncos and the Dons were picked to finish at the top of the WCC in the preseason coaches poll. Fans can follow the action for both games live at SantaClaraBroncos.com.